NOTABLE BOOKS

The American Muslim (TAM) List of Recommended Books on Islam *

The American Muslim (TAM) List of Recommended Books on Islam *

by Sheila Musaji

The books listed here are books that we recommend. This list began with the publication of The American Muslim Resource Directory in 1994. At that time we asked 35 people to submit information about the books about Islam that they would most highly recommend. This list was published in the directory with the initials of those who had recommended the book listed after the entry, and with the books that had received the most recommendations noted. This new list began with that original list and has expanded over the years.

This list will be regularly updated. Most of these books can be found in our book section listed alphabetically and available to order from Amazon.com. If you plan to order through Amazon we would appreciate your clicking on the Amazon links here as that will help us Insh’Allah earn enough to pay the expenses of maintaining this website. If you have recommendations, please send them along.

Originally posted 6/2003 Last updated 6/6/2011 — Note: Some of the books and/or authors listed here are controversial. However, they are important in understanding some movements (particularly political movements) within various Muslim communities over the past century.

ISLAM IN AMERICA AND THE WEST
A Muslim in Victorian America, Umar Abd-Allah
Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation, Eboo PatelAfrican American Islam, Aminah McCloud
Agenda to Change Our Condition, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf & Imam Zaid Shakir
American Islam: Growing up Muslim in America by Richard Wormser
American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion, Paul M. Barrett
American Crescent: A Muslim Cleric on the Power of His Faith, the Struggle Against Prejudice, and the Future of Islam and America by Hassan Qazwini and Brad Crawford
The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook, Dilara Hafiz American Muslims: Bridging Faith and Freedom, M. a. Muqtedar Khan
American Muslims: the New Generation, Asma Gull Hasan
The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook by Dilara Hafiz, Imran Hafiz, and Yasmine Hafiz
Blue-Eyed Devil: A Road Odyssey Through Islamic America by Michael Muhammad Knight
The Butterfly Mosque: A Young American Woman’s Journey to Love and Islam, Willow Wilson
Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-fattah
The Domestic Crusaders (a play), Wajahat Ali and Ishmael Reed
Even Angels Ask: A Journey to Islam in America by Jeffrey Lang
Everyday Struggles: The Stories of Muslim Teens by Sumaiya Beshir
God’s Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215 by David Levering Lewis
I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim by Maria M Ebrahimji and Zahra T Suratwala
The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe (Islamic Surveys) by WM Watt
Islam in America and Other Writings, Muhammad Alexander Russell Webb
Islam in Black America, Edward E. Curtis Islam and the Blackamerican: Looking toward the Third Resurrection, Sherman A. Jackson
Islam, Black Nationalism and Slavery: A Detailed History by Adib Rashad and Sulayman S. Nyang
Islam in America by Jane I. Smith
Islam in Europe: Diversity, Identity and Influence by Aziz Al-Azmeh and Effie FokasIslam in the United States of America, Sulayman Nyang
Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam, Akbar S. Ahmed
Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak by Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur
Losing My Religion: A Call For Help by Jeffrey Lang
Mecca and Main Street: Muslim Life in America after 9/11, Genevieve Abdo
Making Islam Democratic: Social Movements and the Post–Islamist Turn, By Asef Bayat
Muslim Next Door, Sumbul Ali-Karamali
Muslim Teens: Today’s Worry, Tomorrow’s Hope by Ekram Beshir
Muslims in America, Edward E. Curtis
Progressive Muslim Identities: Personal Stories from the U.S. & Canada, ed. Karam, Samad, ZonneveldScattered Pictures…Reflections of an American Muslim, Imam Zaid Shakir Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas, Sylvianne Diouf
Standing Alone in Mecca : An American Woman’s Struggle for the Soul of Islam, Asra NomaniStruggling to Surrender, Jeffrey LangTaking Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith by Producers of Beliefnet and Michael Wolfe
The Taqwacores by Michael Muhammad Knight To Be a European Muslim by Tariq Ramadan
Transnational Muslims in American Society by Aminah Beverly McCloud
Voices Of American Muslims: 23 Profiles by Linda Cateura and Omid Safi
War on Error: Real Stories of American Muslims by Melody Moezzi and Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’imWhat’s Right with Islam: is What’s Right with America by Feisal Abdul RaufWestern Muslims and the Future of Islam by Tariq Ramadan
Zeitoun, Dave Eggers

ISLAM IN AMERICA AND THE WEST - HISTORY
A Muslim in Victorian America, Umar Abd-Allah A Prince Among Slaves, Alford
African American Islam, Aminah McCloudAfrican Muslims in Antebellum America, Allan Austin
Al’ America: Travels Through America’s Arab and Islamic Roots, Jonathan Curiel
American Crescent: A Muslim Cleric on the Power of His Faith, the Struggle Against Prejudice, and the Future of Islam and America by Hassan Qazwini and Brad Crawford
American Islam: Growing Up Muslim in America, Richard Wormser
American Jihad: Islam After Malcolm X, Steven BarbozaBlack Crescent: Experience and Legacy of African Muslims in the Americas, Michael Gomez
Bridging The Divide Between Immigrant and African American Muslims by Utilizing the Concept of Tawheed as the Catalyst by Salahuddin M Muhammad
Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History, 2-Volume Set (Library of American History) by Edward E. Curtis
From Plantation to Muslim, Terris Muhammad
Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance, and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam, Mark Levine Islam and the Blackamerican, Sherman JacksonIslam in the African American Experience, Richard Brent TurnerIslam in the United States of America, Sulayman Nyang
Islam in America, Jane I. Smith
Journey Into America: the Challenge of Islam, Akbar S. Ahmed
Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak by Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur
Mecca to Main Street, Muslim Life in America After 9/11, Genevieve Abdo
Muslims in American History: A Forgotten Legacy, Jerald F. Dirk
Muslims in America: Seven Centuries of History
Muslims in America: A Short History, Edward E. Curtis IV
Muslims’ Place in the American Public Square: Hopes, Fears, and Aspirations by Zahid H. Bukhari, Sulayman S. Nyang, Mumtaz Ahmad and John L. Esposito
Rock and Roll Jihad, Salman Ahmed
Scattered Pictures: Reflections Of An American Muslim by Zaid Shakir
Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas, Sylviane Diouf
Transnational Muslims in American Society by Aminah Beverly McCloud
Voices Of American Muslims: 23 Profiles by Linda Cateura
War on Error: Real Stories of American Muslims by Melody Moezzi and Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im
Young, British and Muslim by Philip Lewis

ORIENTALISM & ISLAMOPHOBIA
A Suitable Enemy: Racism, Migration and Islamophobia in Europe by Liz Fekete and A. Sivanandan
Challenging the New Orientalism: Dissenting Essays n the ‘War Against Islam’, M. Shahid Alam Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World, Edward W. Said
Eurocentirsm, Samir AminEurope and the Mystique of Islam, Maxime Rodinson
Islamophobia and Anti-Americanism: Causes and Remedies by Mohamed Nimer
Islamophobia and Anti-semitism by Hillel Schenker and Abu Zayyad Ziad
Islamophobia and the Question of Muslim Identity: The Politics of Difference and Solidarity by Evelyn Leslie Hamdon
Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century by John L. Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin
Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy by Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg
Islamophobia/Islamophilia: Beyond the Politics of Enemy and Friend (Indiana Series in Middle East Studies), Andrew ShryockThe New Crusades: Constructing the Muslim Enemy, Emran Qureshi, Michael SellsOrientalism, Edward W. Said
Orientalism, Islam & Islamists, Hussain, Olson & Qureshi
Thinking Through Islamophobia: Global Perspectives (Columbia/Hurst) by S. Sayyid and AbdoolKarim Vakil
Why They Don’t Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil, Mark LeVine

POLITICAL
A Bridge Betrayed, Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, Michael Sells
After Terror: Promoting Dialogue among Civilizations, Akbar Ahmed, Brian Forst
American Muslims: Bridging Faith and Freedom, M.A. Muqtedar KhanAmerican Public Policy and American Muslim Politics, Sherman Jackson, Aminah McCloud
Arab Mind, Raphael Petai
Arab Voices: What They Are Saying to Us and Why It Matters, James Zogby
Arrogance of Power, J. William Fulbright
The Challenge of Fundamentalism: Political Islam and the New World Disorder by Bassam Tibi
Challenge of Modernity, Louay Safi
Clash of Fundamentalisms, Tariq AliCulture and Imperialism, Edward Said
Empire and the Crescent, Malik, Hanson & Shakir
Engaging the Muslim World, Juan Cole
Essays on Bosnia, Karic
Europe and the Mystique of Islam, Maxime Robinson
The Failure of Political Islam by Olivier Roy and Carol Volk
Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World, Carl Ernst
The Future of Political Islam by Graham E. Fuller Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, Mahmood Mamdani
Growth of Islamic Thought in North America, Muhammad ShafiqHealing the Wounds of September 11, 2001, Shahid AtharHoly War, Crusade, Jihad, Jalal AbuairabHoly War: the Crusades and Their Impact on Todays World, Karen Armstrong
Homeland Insecurity: The Arab American and Muslim American Experience After 9/11 by Louise Cainkar
In the Land of the Ayatollahs Tupac Shakur is King: Reflections from Iran and the Arab World, Shahzad Aziz
Islam and America by Akbar S. Ahmed
Islam and the Challenge of Democracy: A “Boston Review” Book by Khaled Abou El Fadl, Joshua Cohen and Deborah Chasman
Islam and Democracy: Fear of the Modern World, Fatima Mernissi
Islam and Democracy, Esposito & Voll
Islam and Revolution, Imam Khomeini
Islam and the West, Norman Daniel Islam and World Peace, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition: Essays by Western Muslim Scholars (Perennial Philosophy Series) by Joseph Lumbard and Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Islam, Liberty and Development, Muhammed Khatemi
Islam, Secularism, and Liberal Democracy: Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies by Nader Hashemi
Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity by Tariq Ramadan
Islam Today: A Short Introduction to the Muslim World by Akbar S. AhmedIslam Under Siege, Akbar S. AhmedIslamic Threat, John EspositoIslamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism, Sachedina & MontvilleJesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder, Richard A. Horsley
Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism Are Reshaping the World, Benjamin Barber
Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam by Professor Gilles Kepel and Anthony F. Roberts
Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization by Akbar S. Ahmed
Just Ruler in Shi’ite Islam, A.A. SachedinaLeft Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country From the Religious Right, Rabbi Michael Lerner
Milestones, Sayyid Qutb
Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, Jimmy Carter
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, Barack Obama
The Passionate Attachment: America’s Involvement With Israel, 1947 to the Present, George W. Ball, Douglas B. Ball
They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel’s Lobby, Paul FindleyMalady of Islam, Abdelwahhab Meddeb
Modern Islamic Political Thought, Hamid Enayat
Modernization, Democracy, and Islam by Shireen T. Hunter and Huma Malik
Multiculturalism, Muslims and Citizenship: A European Approach by Tariq Modood, Ricard Zapate-Barrero and Anna Triandafyllidou
[url=http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/book_announcement_multicultural_politics_racism_ethnicity_and_muslims_in_br/]Multicultural Politics, Racism, Ethnicity and
Muslims in Britain, Tariq Modood[/url]
Muslims of Europe: The “Other” Europeans by H. A. Hellyer
Muslims’ Place in the American Public Square, Zahid Bukhari New Crusades: Constructing the Muslim Enemy, Emran Qureshi, Michael Sells
Nonviolence and Peace Building in Islam: Theory and Practice, Mohammed Abu-Nimer
Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis, Jimmy Carter
Out of the Ashes, Alexander cockburn
Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, Jimmy Carter
Peace and the Limits of War: Transcending Classical Conception of Jihad, Louay Safi
Political Islam: Revolution, Radicalism, or Reform by John L. Esposito
Principles of State and Government in Islam, Muhammad Asad
The Prophet of Non-Violence: Spirit of Peace, Compassion & Universality in Islam by Asghar Ali Engineer
The Quest for Meaning: Developing a Philosophy of Pluralism
Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation by Tariq Ramadan
Reason, Freedom, and Democracy in Islam, Abdolkarim Soroush
Religion in International Relations, Fabio Petito
Religion, Terrorism And Globalization Nonviolence: A New Agenda by K. K. Kuriakose, Joseph Chuman, Vincent J. Cornell and Charlotte Cote
Revival and Reform in Islam, Fazlur Rahman
Scattered Pictures: Reflections of An American Muslim, Imam Zaid Shakir
September 11: Religious Perspectives on the Causes and Consequences, ed. Ian markham
Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict Between Islam and Christianity, M.J. Akbar
Shaping the Future: Challenge and Response, Dr. Robert D. CraneShattered Illusions: Analyzing the War on Terrorism, Aftab Ahmed Malik
State We Are In: Identity, Terror, and the law of Jihad, Aftab Malik, Hamza Yusuf
Taking Back Islam, Michael Wolfe
Terror in the Mind of God: the Global Rise of Religious Violence, Mark Juergensmeyer
Terror in the Name of God, Jessica Stern
Theology of Discontent, Hamid DabashiTo Be a European Muslim, Tariq Ramadan
The True Jihad, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam, John Esposito
Voices of American Muslims, Linda CateuraWahhabism: A Critical Essay, Hamid Algar
Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, Tariq Ramadan
With God on Our Side: Politics & Theology of the War on Terrorism, Aftab Ahmad Malik, John L. Esposito, Zaid Shakir
Who Speaks For Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think by John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed

SCIENCE
Aristotle’s Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages by Richard E. Rubenstein
Classification of Knowledge in Islam, Osman Bakar
The Genius of Islam: How Muslims Made the Modern World by Bryn Barnard
History and Philosophy of Islamic Science, Osman Bakar
The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance by Jim Al-Khalili
How Islam Created the Modern World, Mark Graham Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study, Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Islamic Science and Engineering, Donald Hill
Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance , George Saliba
Light From the East: How the Science of Medieval Islam Helped to Shape the Western World by John Freely
Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists, Michael H. Morgan
Modern Man at the Crossroads: Encounter of Modern Science and Islam, John Ahmed Herlihy
Need for a Sacred Science, Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Organ Transplantation, Cloning, Euthanasia, and Animal Experimentation, A.F. Ebrahim
Rise of Early Modern Science in Islam, China, and the West, Toby Huff
Science and Civilization in Islam, Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Science and God, Saiyed Shamim Ahmed
Science & Islam: A History, Ehsan Masood
Science and Medicine in Islam, Franz Rosenthal
Science in Medieval Islam, Howard Turner
Tawhid and Science, Osman Bakar
Unity of Science and Religion, Mohammad Ilyas

Note: Some of the books and/or authors listed here are controversial. However, they are important in understanding some movements (particularly political movements) within various Muslim communities over the past century.

We have now added advertising to help cover TAM's expenses, however we strive to avoid all inappropriate content. By clicking "ads by google" you can report problematical ads and help improve the system. If you have further comments or concerns regarding the ads, contact us.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this webpage do not necessarily reflect
the editorial position of The American Muslim, nor can the American Muslim
be held accountable for these views.

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always
been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such
material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental,
political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice
issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted
material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance
with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed an interest in said material
for research and educational purposes.

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.